Doctors and other medical personnel are often interested in obtaining data with respect to the physical measurements of the legs of a patient. When one leg is larger than the other, a person does not distribute forces of weight uniform to his or her feet or knees, and this unequal weight distribution may cause knee ache, backache etc. In some cases, it is desirable to determine if leg length is equal before conducting chiropractic treatment.
The differences in leg length may be aggravated or may develop with age as the stronger leg grows more than a weaker leg.
Untreated differences in leg length can cause pain such as in the knee, back, or neck. On the other hand, if the differences in leg length are known, then the differences can be compensated, such as by shoe sole inserts.
It is desirable to a device and method for provide simple and reliable leg length difference measurements so that problems can be identified early and treated.
The prior art includes a variety of techniques for measuring skeletal dimensions including leg length or lower leg length for applications such as monitoring growth of children, chiropractic skeletal analysis, and hip replacement. Most of the prior art patents require measurement in a lying or sitting position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,082 describes an apparatus for taking range of motion measurements including leg length by referencing the suprasternal notch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,504 describes an apparatus which records the weight transmitted by each foot while a patient is standing on the device.